2020 Special: whAt's tHe reAL CoSt oF bEing a yOuTubEr/?/1
2Alright, so I wanted to break down my total moneys spent on anything and everything that had to do with me finally fulfilling my long-dreamt goal of sharing my experiences and insight with this platform.
Starting with the PC I have which I got at Wallyworld for $250, no joke. An equivalent might be about $500 if you put it together yourself, but you may even already have a better build than I. The breakdown is:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor
AMD Ryzen R9 200 / HD 7900 series
16GB of ram
1TB HDD
500w power supply
I use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus that I got on eBay for $699 refurbished (I know, it was risky...time will tell if it technically paid off, but I'm happy with it). It has its own screen recording software which I've yet to use and I use both its built-in camera software as well as OpenCamera (free on the play store). It is worth mentioning I spent another $100 on a warranty because yeah.
You can use any webcam or smartphone camera, though. I use FTP to transfer my videos because the less cables the better.
I use my Samsung's microphone so no added cost, but your mileage may vary. Cheap lavaliers can be $1 on Wish or $5 at Wallo-Marto.
I use Mirillis Action! 4k - I can't remember the cost when I bought it on sale but it is regularly $19.99. It was worth it to me because it takes about 25% the RAM that OBS takes but that might not be relevant nor accurate depending on a variety of factors. You could get OBS and cover your screen recording for free.
I use ShotCut to edit my videos and it is free. Your mileage may vary here, as there are a lot of free and paid video editors that are all quite good and popular. I do plan on trying others and may eventually pay for one.
My flexible 3" ring light and camera mount was a $20 purchase that I feel was worth it, but good ambient light and the ability to lean your smartphone against something or just put your camera on a stack of books will cost you nothing.
I think that about covers it, so one more time with the mathings:
~$500 PC build (you may already have)
$800 camera, microphone (you may already have)
$20 software (could be free)
$20 mounts / lighting (could be free)
We'll call it $1350 for an unforgettable learning experience that I feel will withstand the test of time for a while, and once more...you can do this for basically nothing.
Now get out there and get recording!
If you'd like to support the development of the channel, please consider visiting my Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/amalgamash
You can check out my itch.io page for downloadable things I've made!
https://amalgamash.itch.io/